The southernmost Mexican state of Chiapas serves as a last refuge for dozens of endemic, rare and endangered plants and animals. This mountainous, forested land whose canopy is touched by cloud cover has unique inhabitants because it is enriched by the northernmost and southernmost range extensions of many species. It has been identified as a "Pleistocene Refuge," where numerous species survived the climate changes and extinctions of the last ice age.

There are three biosphere reserves in Chiapas that cover an area of more than one million acres. Wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountain range and the Pacific coast, these protected areas form an enormous watershed-wetland system and capture and regulate water quality for dozens of rivers and the coastal wetlands. A network of 14 major rivers drains the forested uplands of the La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve and El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve into the coastal wetlands of the La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve.

The trees here absorb rain and replenish the streams and rivers that funnel water to communities and cropland below. Cloud forests of the higher altitudes are home to an amazing diversity of bird species.

Coastal plain wetlands also provide critical wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl, pelicans, wading birds and shore birds. Some of the bird species include roseate spoonbill, American wood stork, chestnut-bellied heron, azure-rumped tanager, horned guan, resplendent quetzal, emerald toucanet and giant wren.

More than 80 mammal species and 50 reptile species live here. Among them are jaguar, tapir, puma, spider monkey, anteater and the river crocodile. Scientists estimate up to 30,000 species of plants in this region of southern Mexico— of which 2,000 are flowering. 

Cloud forests under threat

Increasing agriculture and ranching in Chiapas has resulted in deforestation and fragmentation of forests. Inappropriate agricultural and ranching techniques, combined with decreasing forest cover and road construction has increased the rate of soil erosion. As a result, soil erosion and the channeling of rivers and dam building change the natural flow of rivers and obstruct estuaries, lagoons and mangrove forests downstream.

Watershed conservation and sustainable land use

Within Chiapas, the Conservancy along with local partners focuses its work on the neighboring forested uplands of La Sepultura and El Triunfo, and the coastal wetlands of La Encrucijada. 

The Conservancy developed an integrated model for watershed conservation within El Triunfo and La Encrucijada. It did this with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the project’s goals included protecting and restoring the key ecological values of the region and creating institutional and community capacity for long-term protection of these natural areas.

The Conservancy recently completed an assessment of La Sepultura in collaboration with partners and local stakeholders. The assessment created a common vision for promoting sustainable resource use, restoration and conservation of its watersheds. An integrated fire management plan is also being developed to protect the reserve’s forests.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): A shrimp fisherman casts his net in a area of wetlands and coastal mangroves managed for shrimp production in La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve. © Mark Godfrey; A river flows west off the Sierra Madre watershed in Chiapas. © Mark Godfrey/TNC.